


Platonic Bed-Sharing, Grief, and an Intrusive Raven

by EssayOfThoughts



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Platonic Bed-sharing, Platonic Cuddling, Post-Episode: c01e115 The Chapter Closes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27798082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EssayOfThoughts/pseuds/EssayOfThoughts
Summary: Right now his wife is grieving her brother and his best friend her first love. The least he can do is hold them close and make sure they don’t have to grieve alone.
Relationships: Keyleth & Vex'ahlia (Critical Role), Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III & Keyleth, Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III & Keyleth & Vex'ahlia, Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia
Comments: 12
Kudos: 74





	Platonic Bed-Sharing, Grief, and an Intrusive Raven

The second night after it all they’re heading to bed when Percy reaches out to snag Keyleth’s sleeve. She stops dead, staring at him; a few seconds later Vex stops ahead of them, glancing back. 

“Come with us,” Percy says softly. “Tonight.”

“What?”

Vex catches on before Percy can speak.

“Join us tonight,” Vex says. “Keyleth.”

“But-”

“You shouldn’t be alone right now,” Percy says. Long experience has taught him that. “Vex has me. Who do you have?”

“Trink-”

“That was last night,” Vex says. “Percy’s right; you need to be around people.”

Percy tugs gently on Keyleth’s sleeve. “Join us,” he says softly.

Keyleth’s voice cracks, her eyes fixed on Vex. “I don’t know if I  _ can,” _ she whispers.

For a moment there’s silence, just the crackling of the torches, the sound of their breathing.

“I don’t know if I can look in a mirror anymore,” whispers Vex. “Keyleth,” she says softly. “Please?”

* * *

They file into Vex’s room one by one. Trinket’s already dozing by the fire and Vex goes to make a fuss of him before they all get ready for bed. They’ve travelled together long enough to have no shame as they change into pyjamas.

Vex makes no bones about what she wants; as soon as Percy’s pyjama’d and in bed she burrows into his side, lets his arm wrap around her and pull her close. What she wants is comfort and Percy doesn’t hesitate to offer it. He may not have much practice but he’s never been able to simply leave Vex feeling awful. He doesn’t think he could forgive himself if he let his wife grieve uncomforted.

Keyleth stands by the bed, between them and Trinket. It’s Vex who makes the first move, extending an arm out over Percy’s body and gesturing her closer. Percy follows suit.

“We invited you,” he reminds her. “Keyleth. You don’t have to be alone.”

Slowly, Keyleth clambers in beside them; Percy wraps an arm around her shoulders and Vex’s reaching hand snags her wrist. If any of them move in the night it’s going to make a terrible tangle but Percy can’t make himself worry about that right now.

Right now his wife is grieving her brother and his best friend her first love. The least he can do is hold them close and make sure they don’t have to grieve alone.

* * *

They sleep. They’re too exhausted and wrung out not to. Even Percy sleeps because with Vex beside him it’s easier somehow.

Maybe it’s just that he knows she’s alive, then. That she hasn’t followed her brother.

He wakes before them both and he’s not sure why at first. Keyleth is snarled up small, all her beanpole height rendered down to something tiny, her face buried in his armpit which can’t be nice for her. The only part of her not snarled up is her arm, stretched out across him, her wrist still held tight in Vex’s grip. When his eyes adjust to what little moonlight illuminates the room he sees how Vex’s fingers are pressed to Keyleth’s pulse. Vex too is sleeping normally, one of her legs half hitched up over his as though she’s trying to pull him closer, half her body over his. Where her stomach presses over his hip, a brief patch of bare skin to bare skin, he can feel her warmth, the in-out of her breathing. If he focusses he can almost feel her pulse, hepatic blood-vessels located in much the same place in half-elves as in humans.

Things are normal. Peaceful.

He doesn’t realise what’s woken him until a pool of darkness moves on Vex’s desk.

* * *

For a moment his heart leaps to his throat because the first and only thing he can thinks is  _ Orthax _ but then it moves into the moonlight, moves to where it isn’t completely unfocussed in his sight, and becomes a raven.

A perfectly ordinary raven. Percy has no idea how it got in through the closed window.

It hops closer, to the edge of the desk and Percy takes a risk, reaching past Vex for his glasses. She stirs just barely and the bird hops back into darkness but when Percy looks its way again, glasses on, it is still there.

“Wise,” he murmurs - quiet, so as not to wake the women on either side of him. “I think if Vex saw you right now she might throw something.” The bird’s head jerks, almost as though silently laughing, but it doesn’t move from the desk.

Percy takes a chance.

“Are you Her?” he asks. “Or sent by Her?” He hopes he doesn’t need to specify who She is - if it’s a dumb animal it won’t matter, if it’s not…

An intelligent raven that got into a locked and shuttered room can only be sent by one entity.

The one which recently took his brother-in-law.

* * *

It doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t caw or hop or flutter it’s wings. It does cock it’s head at him, clearly listening, and Percy sighs.

“I really hope you’re not,” he admits. “I don’t think I want to see or hear hide nor hair of Her again.” The bird’s beak opens but it makes no sound; again it’s head jerks as though laughing. “You’d better not be Vax,” he adds. “They-” and he gestures vaguely with his hands at the two women wrapped in his arms “-need a chance to grieve; they can’t do that if they’re being reminded of you all the time.” He watches the bird which watches solemnly back. “It’s not fair to them,” he says softly. “They need to come to terms with it.”

The bird’s head tilts pointedly. If it  _ were _ Vax Percy can almost hear what he’d be saying.  _ Like you did with your family? _

Percy really wishes that wasn’t a fair argument to make. 

“I’ll take care of them,” he says. Promises, really. Vex and Keyleth are family and they’d do the same for him. Vex  _ is _ doing the same for him, when it comes to his own family. “But they need to be allowed to grieve. They don’t need ravens following their footsteps for the next few months. Not anymore than would happen normally.”

He doesn’t say  _ please. _ He doesn’t think he could keep his voice steady enough for it.

On the table the bird tilts his head. If it weren’t only a bird, Percy would think it nodded.

It’s quiet. He can’t hear the wind outside - this side of the castle is sheltered from the wind; even the window barely rattles in it’s frame - the only noise is the crackle of the fire, the loud snores of Trinket and the quieter ones of Vex, Keyleth’s soft breathing. A thud from the fire briefly startles him - he glances over to see a spray of sparks but Trinket doesn’t stir and though Vex shifts, neither she nor Keyleth wake.

When Percy looks back to the desk, there’s no bird there.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Yes that is the WIP title. Sorry, I couldn't think of anything better and also it amuses me. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this and if you did, please leave comments!


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